An American Hero

“And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.”

Lee Greenwood, 1985

Today, a hometown hero will be laid to rest.

A 2003 graduate of Terrell High School, Staff Sgt. Shawn McNabb, 24, died Oct. 26 while protecting our nation's freedom in Afghanistan.

Stationed at Hunter Army Air Field in Savannah, Ga.; McNabb was a soldier in the 160th Special Operations Regiment “SOAR” serving in the Third Battalion as an Airborne Flight Medic. He has been awarded for his heroism, dedication, and meritorious service receiving the Bronze Star, the Air Medal, the Army Commendation Medal for Valor, and the Purple Heart posthumously.

The lyrics at the top of this piece are from the Lee Greenwood song, “God Bless The USA.” Greenwood won a song of the year award in 1985 for those words he penned above. Fittingly, it was the same year that McNabb was born.

Friends and family all recall McNabb as one of the good guys. Judging by the number of comments left online at terrelltribune.com and on Anderson-Clayton’s online guestbook, many share that opinion.

Shawn McNabb was nothing less than a true hero.

While our nation’s people can differ philosophically as to whether or not we should have troops in Afghanistan, the sudden loss of a young soldier like Shawn McNabb, should remind us that the names of the fallen that are published in newspapers across this nation every week are real people whose families will forever be diminished by their loss.

As we here in Kaufman County have experienced in the past week, the death of a soldier has a ripple effect throughout the entire community.

We, too, can never be truly whole again.

The bravery and unselfish willingness of these young people like McNabb to pay the ultimate sacrifice for our country should never be made a point of debate.

Instead, we should only hope to offer some comfort and support to their loved ones while resolving as a nation that we will never forget what these young heroes have given us.

God bless you SSGT Shawn McNabb.

Thursday Thoughts

On her blog yesterday, Christina makes a really good point. You can read it here. I think we spend too much of our life letting small things define the big picture. I'm a big-time culprit of this. There are days where I have to step back and say, "Whoa! Let's leave work at work and focus on the important stuff for awhile."
Personally, I pour a lot of my life into my work. It's something I enjoy. But when I step back and review the situation, I hope that my career is not what defines me (well, at least not until I write that Pulitzer prize-winning novel). I'd rather folks take a broader look at all the aspects of my life to craft their opinion of me.

• Yesterday, people line the streets to pay tribute to SSGT Shawn McNabb. I posted a few of my photos here. Don J. posted a slideshow of shots here. Jim and Brian had some nice shots here and here.

• Interesting interview with a Pulitzer prize-winning photojournalist who got his start in Dallas.  

• A Brazilian bricklayer reportedly killed in a car crash shocked his mourning family by showing up alive at his funeral. Link.

• Paying tribute to one of my favorite movies.

• AT&T Inc is suing Verizon Wireless in an effort to stop its bigger mobile rival from using "misleading" coverage maps in advertisements that AT&T says are causing it to lose "incalculable market share." I wonder if there is a map for that.

• BTW...I love my iPhone, but apparently I'm in one of those good coverage areas.

A Hero's Welcome

Wednesday afternoon, community residents lined the streets of Terrell to welcome home SSGT Shawn McNabb, a Terrell soldier who recently died in Afghanistan.

Here are a few shots from the procession:

Wednesday Wit & Wisdom

Only 659 ballots were cast in Kaufman ISD's tax rollback election. Bad news for the district is that only 325 were in favor of the proposition; the other 334 were against it. The district was asking voters to raise the M&O allocation to $1.17, which would have produced an additional $1.9 million into the district coffers.

• The Texas Tribune, a self-described non-profit, non-partisan media outlet, launched online yesterday. It's an interesting concept. Here's why they are doing it.

• I'm a fan of the Old 97's. I'm not so much a fan of Phil Jackson. However, he wins points for quoting the Old 97's in an interview. (tip of the hat to farky)

• Last night, I finally got to sit down and watch a Mavericks game. It was a good one to catch since Dirk Nowitzki dominated the 4th quarter in a record-breaking fashion.

• I'm chasing a story right now that keeps running into bureaucratic road blocks. It's frustrating.

• Kaufman County authorities are asking residents to be aware of a new "phishing" scam.

Tuesday Tidbits

Today is election day.

Admittedly, an election about a bunch of constitutional amendments may not be as interesting as what we'll likely see come the March 2010 primaries, but it's still an important part of our governmental process. I hope you take time to get out and vote. Of course, before you do, please do a little research on the amendments here.

Here in Kaufman, however, the election does carry a little extra weight since it includes a KISD tax ratification election. Watch that wording on the ballot to make sure you're voting the way you want.

• A company behind plans to open the first hotel in space says it is on target to accept its first paying guests in 2012 despite critics questioning the investment and time frame for the multi-billion dollar project. Link.

• First Baptist Church of Dallas today announced a $130 million capital campaign to build a 3,000-seat worship center, a religious education building and parking lot, a glass concourse, and a sky bridge. Link. Not everyone agrees with the idea, though.

• Closer to home, Kaufman City Council last week approved a few items concerning First Baptist Church of Kaufman's new proposed digs. I think our local guys are taking a slower, more conservative approach. While there was a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo in the talks, the part I agreed with the most was that the church is striving to cut down as few trees as possible to preserve the area's look.

• The Terrell Lady Tigers made the playoffs for the first time since 1985 this year. Their great season, though, came to a halt last night in Ennis. Cliff will have the story in today's Tribune.

• Don't forget about this weekend in Kaufman. The community has been gearing up for Saturday's dedication ceremony for the Vietnam Memorial Wall of Texas, a 4/5ths replica of the D.C. monument that is being permanently placed at Kaufman's Veteran's Memorial Park. The activity is expected to draw quite a crowd.